Inspiring Conversations with Nick Cholula Cruz of People’s Victory Leather Co.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Cholula Cruz.

Hi Nick, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
This leather craft journey began in my childhood, starting in the early 2000s, I was part of an after school program called The Ranch which was located at the OC Fairgrounds. The program taught us about gardening, raising livestock and how to work the land, and equestrianism, but my favorite class out of all of them was leatherworking. When you stepped into the room it instantly hit you, the smell of the hides, the sound of tooling and being able to create and shape items with my hands was a memory that never left me.

Years, passed and life took me into different directions, and in 2019, I found myself drawn back to the craft when I found old hand made wallets and bookmarks that I had in that class. The love for the craft came rushing back, and in May 2025, I stepped out in faith and did my first trial run, with PV Leather Co., and within less than a year the company was officially founded as People’s Victory Leather Co,

People’s Victory Leather Co was founded with a simple mission: Crafted with Purpose. I have always believed that quality should mean something, that what you carry should be built to last and tell your story as you use it. Every piece that I make is made with high grade U.S sourced hides with a few selected foreign leathers that are equally as high quality. Attention to the small details matter, each bag, travel journal or keychain is meant to age with you, developing that beautiful patina. It brings me great joy being able to connect with others through this craft, being able to see how it wears in and hearing the stories of their adventures.

The heart of the brand lies in its mark: the sword, the roman numerals and the phrase Ut Alii Vivant, “so that others may live.” It is more than a motto, it is a reflection of my faith, commitment, care and serves as a reminder to John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (New International Version, 2022).

People’s Victory Leather Co. was built on that truth, faith, integrity and honor. I do not take for granted every person who has supported this journey, shared a story or carried a piece I have made.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for walking alongside me. It is an honor to craft with purpose and to create pieces not just made in leather, but legacy.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Thus far I would say it has been a road filled with a lot of help and guidance from mentors, friends, and other creators. The biggest struggle was actually doing it, there was this fear of failure, especially when my plate at the time was already quite full with part time job, full time school on a fast track system and serving at church. To my surprise what has truly impacted my life personally has been the amount of support from my community to go for it, to be wise in my decisions, to meet people and connect with others. Those moments of being able to connect with others and hear their stories has brought such big points of help when I first started when often times I hadn’t even gotten to that step of the business, my community opened their doors of knowledge and experience guiding me in the right direction.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about People’s Victory Leather Co.?
People’s Victory Leather Co, specializes in hand crafted artisanal leather goods, utilizing materials mainly sourced here in the U.S. This includes leather products for personal and home goods, in addition to this offering wholesale and bulk ordering for fully customizable options for other businesses to resale or gifting, ranging from coasters, mouse pads, and journal covers. What sets People’s Victory Leather Co. apart from others truly comes down to the level of quality these products are being produced with a clear mindset of offering refined designs built to last with the goal of creating lasting connections with the community. The most proud brand wise that I am, is being able to share my faith through my craft with others. What I want readers to know about my brand is simple, People’s Victory Leather Co was made with the intention of offering high quality leather goods at fair prices and having transparency of where those hides truly come from, in a market where the phrase “genuine leather” has over taken the industry, I want my brand to really be known as authentic and honest.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
In my life luck has been unpredictable and often times I felt like was having way more bad than good luck. Truly it came down to my faith and being connected with really great mentors that have taken the time to sit with me and share their knowledge. Real world experience is something that truly cannot be bought, it often has to be learned, and more often than not it is learned the hard way. But I say this with confidence that the amount of wisdom, guidance and time that others have poured into me has helped me move forward in life and in my business and in doing so it brings me joy that I can also help others that are on the same journey as me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pvleatherco

Image Credits
Nick Cholula Cruz